Everyday heroes: Doctor urges men to get screened for prostate cancer

A child's father can be similar to a superhero to them, someone who chases away monsters hiding under the bed or wraps them in bear hugs after they wake from vivid nightmares.

They also can act as everyday heroes by simply playing a game of catch in the yard with their children or fixing whatever's broken in the house.

These heroes come in all shapes and sizes and can be found around every corner, working as firefighters, police officers, doctors, teachers, or even stay-at-home-dads.

Just like kryptonite to Superman, though, they have their weaknesses. Everyday superheroes still fall down sometimes and are far from being invincible.

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Prostate cancer is one of those possible weaknesses, one that is often pushed to the back of people's minds.

But since it's the most common type of non-skin cancer found in American men, prostate cancer is not an illness that should be taken lightly. It affects one in six men and is the second leading cause of death, according to the American Cancer Society, which estimates that more than 238,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2013.

In total, 29,000 men are expected to succumb to the disease, and it's estimated that more than 2 million men are prostate cancer survivors.

Whether it is due to pride or fear, some men are hesitant to visit the doctor's office. If they didn't put off these checkups, would more cases of prostate cancer, and other deadly illnesses, be caught in time with a better chance of fighting back?

"There are no early symptoms of prostate cancer," said Dr. David Law of the Michigan Institute of Urology. "The best thing that men can do to better their chances of catching it early is get their prostate-specific antigen examinations once a year.

"If there are changes in their digital rectal exams, we move on to give them an ultrasound, followed by a biopsy if anything is detected. From there, we make the diagnosis."

Men should typically start getting tested at 50 years old, because they are most commonly diagnosed with prostate cancer between the ages of 50 and 75, with a few exceptions.

If they have a family history of breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men, they should begin testing at the age of 40 as those cancers share the same gene.

"You have a better chance of inheriting the disease if you have a family history of it, which is why we start testing them earlier," Law said. "My sons joke that they have to get tested early because of me."

Law, a Trenton resident, is a survivor of prostate cancer, currently in remission after being diagnosed with the disease five years ago.

"We caught it early, so I was excited about that," he said. "My wife, Kim, cried when I told her, though. Clearly, I didn't deliver the news to her the right way."

The fact that he caught it early was a silver lining to a dark situation.

"Now, we have a chance to actually find this disease early," Law said. "Back in the day there were no PSAs, no checks, and the cancer would spread to the bone before it was even diagnosed. It was rare to find it early, but now we are finding it early and giving men a better chance to fight."

While some men still are hesitant to make their yearly appointments, it turns out that they have made huge strides in consistently visiting their doctors.

"Men have become so concerned and willing to come to these appointments now," Law said. "There's more dedication because they know it's a real disease and a real threat."

Prostate cancer has four stages. In stage one, cancer is located only within the prostate. Stage two is a more advanced version of stage one, though the disease still has not ventured outside the prostate. Stage three occurs when the cancer spreads to the seminal vesicles (a pair of glands near the bladder). In stage four, the cancer has spread to other organs and parts of the body such as the bones and lymph nodes.

The lower the stage, the more beneficial it is to the patient to remove the gland. The earlier the cancer is caught, the better.

"My kids thought that it was a huge deal when I was diagnosed," Law said. "I had to emphasize to them repeatedly that we caught it early, that this was just another bump in the road for us."

Law said he made it over that bump not just through treatments at the hospital, but by taking care of himself and his body.

Diet and exercise are important just for one's regular health, but also play a role in keeping diseases, such as prostate cancer, at bay.

"I don't tell my patients what to do, I show them what to do through my own example, just like with raising kids," Law said. "It wasn't a fight. I just got as healthy as I could, and I'm still doing that today to keep it from coming back. Prostate cancer is obesity sensitive. If people don't take care of themselves, they're putting themselves at an even greater risk."

At 8 a.m. today, more than 16,000 people will run in support of the fight against prostate cancer at MIU's annual Run for the Ribbon 5K Run/Walk at the Detroit Zoo.

"We're taking over the zoo," Law said. "I've gone and participated in this event every year since 2009, when I first joined MIU."

Race teams are set and donations have been made.

Many people purchased "In celebration of" signs with their loved ones' names on them for donations of $5. These signs will be placed along the running course, in celebration and in honor of their fight against prostate cancer.

"It doesn't matter who you are," Law said. "Everyone knows someone who has this disease or someone who has been touched by it in some way."

Law spent years treating prostate cancer and working with patients affected by the disease, only to find himself going from doctor to patient.

He found a way to take everything that he possibly could from the experience, though, and managed to find another silver lining in it.

"Becoming a patient helped me become a much better doctor," he said. "Now I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of treatment, to put your trust entirely into another person.

"I can't even put into words how much better you become when you see both sides of a situation. It helped tremendously just with me relating to my patients."

Today, Law is living a cancer-free life in Trenton with his wife, Kimberly. They have four children.

He is one of MIU's 55 members, and the organization's main focus is centered on prostate cancer research and trials. To this day, Law's PSAs continue to come up negative.

"My advice to men is just for them to find a doctor they can trust, and to continue getting exams done once a year," he said. "It's a gift to be diagnosed early -- it can be treated. Things are going to happen to you no matter what in life, but this is one that can be treated and can be beaten."